Casino M8trix Calls off Lawsuit against City

The nearly two-year standoff between the city of San Jose and owners of Casino M8trix may finally be coming to an end. On Monday, owners of the Tetris-adorned tower and card club filed papers to pull their lawsuit over several disputes—mainly the city’s rejection of gaming on the top/eighth floor.

Sean Kali-Rai, a lobbyist for the card club, said he met City Manager Ed Shikada last week for coffee and had his “first meaningful interaction” with a city official in six months.

“I got a pretty good sense they’re going work with us,” he said. “They still want to have their enforcement issues addressed, but they’re going to try to meet us in the middle, wherever that may be.”

Law enforcement and city officials delayed M8trix’s opening for four months in 2012, in part because of concerns about how easily gaming on the top floor could be monitored. M8trix owner Eric Swallow originally proposed high-limit poker for the partitioned floor, but gaming commissioner Richard Teng and former police chief Chris Moore had reservations. In its lawsuit against the city, Swallow accused Teng of having conflicts of interest. The city is now in the process of moving oversight away from police to an independent body.